Melamine in soup bowls may seep into our bodies: Is it safe?

New research finds that the chemical melamine, which is used in some types of tableware, may leach into hot foods and enter our bodies while we eat. The chemical has been linked to causing kidney stones in animals. / istockphoto

Melamine, a chemical found in bowls, plates and other tableware may leach into our food and make its way into our bodies, potentially raising risks for health problems.

That's what a new study of soup-eaters suggests. Taiwanese researchers enlisted a group of 12 healthy men and women who ate noodle soup in either a bowl made of ceramic or one made of melamine. They found measurable levels of the chemical additive in the urine of those eating out of the melamine bowl.

"The amount of melamine released into food and beverages from melamine tableware varies by brand, so the results of this study of one brand may not be generalized to other brands," wrote the study's authors, led by Dr. Chia-Fang Wu, a researcher at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan. "Although the clinical significance of what levels of urinary melamine concentration has not yet been established, the consequences of long-term melamine exposure still should be of concern," they concluded.

The study was published Jan. 21 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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Melamine is a flame-retardant chemical used to make adhesives, industrial coatings and certain types of plates, cooking utensils and other plastic products. The chemical made headlines in 2008 when some China manufacturers of infant formula added melamine to watered-down milk to trick tests measuring protein. Some 300,000 babies became sick after consuming the tainted formula and milk, and six died.

The chemical has also been linked to kidney and bladder stones (urolithiasis), kidney failure and even cancer in animal studies, according to the World Health Organization, but research on human exposure is lacking.

Study participants were randomly assigned to eat soup out of either a melamine bowl or ceramic bowl, then after a three-week period, were asked to switch. Their urine samples were collected about 12 hours after eating. The researchers found on overage, people who ate out of melamine bowls had 8.35 micrograms of the chemical in their urine, compared to 1.31 micrograms of the chemical found after eating from a ceramic bowl.

Dr. Kenneth Spaeth, director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Center at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., tells CBSNews.com that melamine may leach out of tableware if the food is especially acidic, tableware is damaged and if the products are used when serving or reheating hot foods.

Spaeth, who was not involved in the study, said it would be an "overreaction" to tell people to avoid all melamine plates and dishes, since the study did not look at safety and toxicity of the product. However, the study did suggest people eating from the products are getting exposed to the chemical, he said.

"It's a pretty strong link to see high levels after that," said Spaeth. ""It's reasonable to have some concerns of what exposure could be happening, and the impact it could have on human health."

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• U.N. panel sets limits for chemical melamine in infant milk following 2008 China scandal

Whereas other chemicals that may enter our bodies through food -- like BPA (bisphenol A) and phthalates -- are more ubiquitous in the environment, Spaeth said melamine exposure is often more restricted to certain types of containers or tableware that can be avoided.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says previous tests suggest the amount of melamine that gets into a drink like orange juice is 250 times lower than the level the agency has concluded is acceptable in foods other than infant formula. The FDA adds that more exposure is possible when highly acidic foods are heated in microwave ovens.

"Only ceramic or other cookware which specifies that the cookware is microwave-safe should be used," according to the FDA. "The food may then be served on melamine-based tableware."

[judymar14]

If we stopped eating what these studies determine to be harmful, we would starve to death, not to forget drinking, in some cases water.

Bad enough all the studies being done by the West, now Asian countries are jumping on the bandwagon. The most insult to intelligence is the the Japanese slaughtering whales to do research for the benefit of mankind. What kind of reasearch can be done on a dead whale? And how many do they need to carry this out?

Next we will hear the animals being slaughtered in African countries to sell to Asian countries are needed for testing to benefit mankind. Not for things such as a monkey paw used as an ashtray, elephant tusks for carving out nic-nacs, ground up Rhino horns - which is hair - for sexual enhancement, Ridiculous ancient beliefs. Not heard of Vigara, yet?

[stupa5]

Bottom line the Chinese own the US and its Stores like Walmart & Home Depot..
they plan to take all your money & poison all the round eyes & their pets with melamine..."rots of ruck ...haha ha you American chumps" ...is their slogan...Mao is LHAO!

[Swift29]

Dumb@ss Number 1.
Turn off the radio and read a book. Not one by ADD boy.

[iliketurtels]

how racest are you? really you are so just like ok i want to go to your house and punch you in your face that's how retarded and stupid you are

[tmittelstaed]

Lead used to be used in porcelain glaze, so you can get lead from some plates. Porcelain isn't automatically safe.

Personally I hate plastic dishes. They always end up flipping upside down in the dishwasher and filling up with water. Porcelain is much easier to clean.

[NinthSt78]

I like the cast iron taste far better than the aluminum or stainless steel one.

[taryder]

I suggest that most people would be shocked to see how many chemicals are already in our systems, including melamine, from all of these corporations that care about nothing but the bottom line of getting more and more profits......and basically our government has done nothing for quite some time to thoroughly have checks on all of this. As these corporations pay big $$$$ to get the right people for their businesses elected to our government, not surprising nothing is done. Maybe this explains why there are 1 out of 88 babies born autistic in this country........Something is clearly wrong, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out......Look how many young children we see walking around now that don't look quite right (pale, sick, anemic looking, etc.).........Well, if everyone is injesting PLASTICS FROM CHINA and whererever, and whatever other chemicals, it's somewhat of a no-brainer. And look at all those toys from China painted bright red (assuming some titanium red, one of the most toxic chemicals) that the kids and adults handle. There are certain stores in the United States (well known stores that you know who they are) that one can walk into and smell weird chemicals from the plastic. Do we care so little about our children (to say the least of our selves) that we do nothing and let it continue

[CarsonCitySteve]

I think an executive order is forthcoming.

[hypnotoad72]

WAS MELAMINE SAFE FOR DOGS?


In sufficiently large quantities, melamine is not good for any organic life form.

In small quantities, does it build up or pass through without issue?

Don't businesses that advertise how much they care, complete with that idiotic piano and guitar music, even live up to their marketed claptrap, by being so full of deceit and then treating viewers/customers like idiots?

Disgusting.

Forgive me. Some of this stuff is hardly exotic or new knowledge for crying out loud... What kind of people are we?

[redhillsrd]

So the next question is what dishes have melamine?

Is it those character-printed cups and plates for kids ?

Is it that free plastic cups you get with the company logos?

Is there a special recycle number on the bottom of the plate?

[hypnotoad72]

The logos just mean the company with the logo sponsored another company to make the same cups?but with the different logo on it.

The root issue still lies with the manufacturer and every nuance within (accidental, or otherwise).